Door-check.



No. 868,357. PATENTS?) 0.0T. 15, 1907. L.G.NORTON.

7 DOOR CHECK.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.13, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTED OCT. 15

-L. O. NORTON.

DOOR CHECK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.13. 1906.

3 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

7 M i W 5 w j U iT DsT irEs PATE T o en.

LEWIS CINORTON. i NEWTONIMASSACHUSETTS, Assam TO NORTON noon dHEoK 0 osnosrou, MASSACHUSETTS, A OORPO'IRATIO'NYOF MASSACHUSETTS.

- DooR oIa:soK i To all 'whom it may concern: Be it known that I, LEWIS O. N ORTON, a citizen of at United States, residing at Newton, in the county of Middle sex and State of Massachusetts, have invented anlmprovement in Door-Checks, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is alspecification, like letters on the drawings I representinglike parts. I

This invention relates to checks or retarding devices in which a liquid is employed in acylinder for checking the movement of anobject, and it has for its principal object to provide a novel check of the character in 'which the movement of the object may be checked or retarded in both directions; a further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the speed of the movement of the object may be controlled throughout its entire extent instead of merely during any particular part of the movement.

The invention may be employed in a variety of ways,

2() such for instance as checking the movement of a door,

or as checking the movement of a spring or of any other movable object.

.When the invention is embodied in a door check said door check will operate to check-both the opening and i closing movement, of the door; and also control the speed of the closing movement of the door throughout its entire extent instead of merely during the latter part of the movement as is the case withordinary door A checks. I provide for checking both the movement of an object in both directions by providing the usual cylinder with a double-headed piston and suitable passages, so that the piston operates to check the turninginovement oi the, operating shaft in both directions; and I provide for controlling the speed of the movement of the object throughout its entire extent by making in the cylinder a plurality of ports through'which the liquid flows during such movement of the object and employ a plurality of valves to close these ports all as will be more fully hereinafter described.

When the invention is embodied in a door-check I propose to make the check adaptable for either a righthanded door or a left-handed door by interposing between the ribbon spring which is used'to operate the door suitable means whereby when the shaft is turned in one direction one end of the spring is wound up, and when the shaft is turned in the other direction the other end of the spring is wound.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved check; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a section on an enlarged scale on the line a;;v, Fig. 1; Fig i is a section on the line xx, Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section on the line av -x Fig; 3; Fig. Gis a plan view of one form of piston or plunger; Fig. 7 is end view thereof; Fig. 8 is a plan view of a differout form of piston or plunger; Fig. 9 shows a check hav- Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Application filed March 13,1906. Serial No. 305,759.

Patented Oct. 15, 1907-' ing a slightl y different arrangement of valves; and Fig. i 10 shows the invention embodied in a spring check.

I first describe my invention as embodied in door check and will thenpointout some other ways iu ,which it may be used; A door check'embodying my invention has the same principal elements that common to liquid door checks of this type, that is comprises a checking cylinder 3, which is usually cured to the. door, and in which the liquid is held, 11.55 piston 4 operating in said cylinder; an operating shaft 5 connected to the piston; a spring 6 which'is wound up by the turning movement of the'shaft; an arm 7 connected to the shaft and a link 80-pivotally connecting i said am to the door casing. The operating sh'aft'5 may" be connected to the piston 4 -in any suitable or usual way, and in Figs. 3 and 6 said shaft shown as having a crank 8, provided with a crank-pin 9 which plays in the'slotin the-piston, and in Fig. 8 the shaft is shown as provided with a gear 10 which meshes with a rack 11 on oricarried by the piston. a

In order thatrthe checking feature-of. the device may be operated to.check the opening as well as the closing movement of the door I have made the piston a double ended one, that is, one having two heads 12 and-13 so 1 that the movement of the piston is retarded or checked in both directions. 7

The cylinder is providedwith a duct or passageway 1d communicating with two ports 15 and 16 opening into the cylinder at ,one end, said duct or passageway 14 communicating with the cylinder at its central point between the two heads of the piston. The walls of the cylinderare also provided with another duct or passage 17 which communicates at one end with the cylinder between the heads of the piston, and at the other end opens into two ports 18 and 19 which lead into the cylinder, .all of these ports may be controlled by valves whereby the speed of movement of the piston may be regulated throughout its entire extent.

1n the embodiment of the invention'shown in Fig. 3 the ports 16 and 19 are controlled by valves 20 and 21 of any appropriate construction by means of which valves the size of the ports may be adjusted, The duct or passage 17 is also controlled by a suitable valve 22, and if desired the duct 14' may be controlled by a similar valve. I i

The arrangement of passageways and ports and-the arrangement of valves enables me to control the speed of the closing movement of the door throughout the entire extent of such movement, that is, the door may be allowed to move rapidly during the first part of its movement and made to move slowly during the latter part of its movement, or it may be given a uniform speed throughout the extent of movement, or it may be made to move slowly through the first part of the movement and rapidly as the door finally closes.

It will be understood of course that as the door is The partsare shown in Fig.- 3 1n theposition which .Lheyoccupy when the door is'closedi- The opening movement of the sloo turns the operating shaft 5 and move s the piston toward the left, Fig. 3, and because said piston has the two heads 12 and 13 its movement towaid the left is retarded more or less according to the position of the valve 20.' During the first part of the opening movement of the door the piston can movev comparatively freely in the'cylinder, the liquid in the cylinder in front of the piston head 12 being forced through the port 15 and passageway l faround behind the piston head 12, the liquid between the two heads passing through'the passageway 17 to the right of the piston head 13'." When the door is nearly opened the piston head 12passes over the port 15, and therefore during the final opening of the door the-liquid in front of said piston-head can only escape'through the retracted port 16, and as the size of said port may be regulated by the valve 20 the opening movement of the door may be retarded more or less, thereby preventing the door from being slammed while being opened.

The piston-heads are each provided with a port 23 which is controlled by a check valve 24 of any suitable construction. As the piston-head 12 moves toward the left, Fig. 3, the clreck-valve therein closes auto-.

matically so that all the liquid in front of the piston head must be'forced through the ports 15 and 16 and the duct 14. During this time the check-valve in the head only actsas a retarding device, and when the piston 'is moved iii the other direction'the other piston head only acts in this way.

During the closing movement of the door the piston moves toward the right, Fig. 3, and the valve 24 in the piston-head is closed. During the first part of the closing of the door the liquid between the piston-head 13 and the end of the cylinder is forced through the two ports 18 and 19 and the duct 17, and dur'ingithe final closing movement of the door the liquid is forced through the port 19 only. f

If the valve 22 is wide open. the piston will move freelyduring the first part of its movement toward the right but will be retarded more or less during the last part of the movement, and as soon as the piston-head 13 has passed the port 18, dependent upon the position of the valve 21, ifit is desired to have the door close slowly during the firstpart of its movement and more rapidly during the latter part the valve 21 is opened and the valve 22 partially closed. With the valves thus' arranged, the liquid in front of the piston head 13 can escape to the space behind said piston head during the first part of the stroke of the piston only bypassing through the duct 17 which is controlled by the valve 22, and therefore during this first part of the stroke of the piston the spe ed thereof may be controlled by regu lating the valve 22. As soon, however, as the piston head has passed the port 18, then the liquid can escape quick final movement.

into the space behind the piston, both through the duct 17 and the port 18, and the speed of movement of the piston is then controlled by the valve 21. It will be seen, therefore, that by adjusting the valves 22 and 21, the piston may be controlled so that it will move uniformly throughout its entire stroke, or it may have a comparatively quick movement during the firstpart of its stroke anda slow final movement, or a slow movement at'theifirst; or stroke and a comparatively In Fig. 9,1: have illustrated a slightly different arran'gement of valves for controlling the ports 15, 16, 18

- and 19. In this 'embodiment the valves for controlling any pair of ports 15, 16, or 18, 19 are connected together so as to be moved in unison, and a single adjustment therefore will answer to operate both of said valves.

40' designatesa valve-stem which is screw-threaded into a bushing or sleeve 41, and which extends parallel to the port orduct 14. The inner end of said duct is of 1 smaller diameter than the outer end and intermediate; $5

said-portions of different diameter is the valve-seat 45 with which the end 44 of the stern coacts as'a valve; The enlarged portion 40 of the stem just fills the portion 14 of the duct having a larger diameter, and Said stem is provided with one or more grooves 46.

turning the stem 40, the valve 44 may be closed against) its seat 45 and the duct 14 entirely closed. Thei duc 't 14 may be opened more or less by retracting the valve stem, and by turning said stem slightly the portlfiifiay be completely closed, or entirely opened, or partially closed, as desired: The same character of valve is employed in the-duct 17 for controlling the ports 18, 19. This form of valve is preferred by me because the thumb-piece 47 by which it is operated is more readily accessible than in the form of the invention shown. in' 100 Figv 3, and the .two valves for controlling the two ports of any duct are connected so as to be moved in unison,

and both, therefore, maybe operated by manipulating a single thumb-piecev With this embodiment of the invention it""is possible to so control the ports 15, 16, 18,' 19 that the piston may have any speed of movement desired in either direction, that is, either a slow initial movement and a rapid closing movement, a rapid initial movement and a slow final movement, or uniform movement throughout its extent. It will thus be seen that I have not only provided means for checking both the opening and closing movements of the door, but also means whereby thespe'ed of the closing movement of the door may be controlled throughout its entire ex tent. The spring which I have herein illustrated is a spiral ribbon spring and it is inclosed in a suitable barrel or casing 25. Inorderthat the device may be used for either right or lefthanded doors it is necessary that the spring may be wound eitherby arighthand turuin g movemc nt of the shaft 5 or a'left hand turning movement thereof. Toaccomplish this I connect one end of the spring 6 to a sleeve 26 loosely mountcd on the operating shaft 5, as best seen in Fig; 5, and connect the other end of said spring to a head 2-7 which is also rnmlnterl-to,

- is secured, see Fig. 5. This arm or flange 29 normally rests against an abutment or stop 30 rigid with the spring the turning movement of 33 projecting from a plate 34. Said plate 34 loosely sur rounds the sleeve 26 and can be turned with relation thereto. When the door is closed'the arm 33 of said plate engages a stop or abutment projecting. up-

wardly from the cap of the spring barrel; The operating arm 7 which is rigid with the operating shaft has de-. pending therefrom a lug 36 which is adapted. to engage the arm 33 of the plate, so that as the door is opened and said arm swung in the directionof the arrow, Fig.4, said lug 36 engages the arm 33 and through the pawl and v ratchet construction turns the sleeve 26 with it inthe direction of the arrow Fig. 4, thereby winding up the spring from its inner end. When the door is released after being opened, the unwinding-0i the springcloses the door as will be obvious.

The above-described operation is that which transpires when the device isapplied to a right-handed door, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. .When the device is applied to a left-handed door, the opening movement of the door would wind the shaft 5 in the opposite direction.

,In order to wind up the spring when thesh a ft turns in such oppositedirection the head 27 is provided with a lug or projection 37 which is engaged by the lug 36 when the arm swings oppositely to that indicated by-the arrows, Figs. 1 and -4.- When, therefore, the arm does swing in such opposite-direction the head 27 is rotated with the arm and the shaft 5 and through the flange 29 thespringdiswound up from theoutsid e,- the inner end of thelspringbeingheld from turningby reason ofthe fact that the sleeve 26 is held from rotation by the pawl 32 and the plate34 to which the. pawl 32is. pivoted is held from rotation by the'stop'35. I

The head 27 is provided with the depending flange 89 which encirclesthe upper edge of the spring. i This flange serves to hold the spring in proper position and prevents it from being crowded out of place when is wound up from theooutsidem,

1 By combining in a door check the doubl e-acting spring 6 and th e doubl e-headed plunger piston I have provided adooncheck which is universal and reversible in its operation. I believe that 'it is new to make a door.

check ofthis character withrneans whereby the door may be checked in its opening as well as its closing movement, and also t0 P Pvide a 'do'or check with" means wherebythc speed of movement oi'the door may be .controlled throughout the entire-extent of such movement. My invention may also be embodiedin checks other than door checks, in fact the checking feature of my invention may be used in a great many places where a retarding device is employed for retard-.

ing the movement of any obj ectl ,In' Fig. 10 I have illustrated the invention appliedas a spring check. Where it is usedin this way the ribbon spring 6 employed in the door check is omitted, and the operating shaft 5 is connepted directly to the part to be retarded. In other respects, however, the invention is like thatshown in Fig. 9, that is the arrangement of the piston and the controlling ports 15, 16, l8-and 19 and the valves is thesamel V 7 When applie d as a spring check for an automobile ports through which the. liquid ,is

the cylinder 3 may he placed either directly on the axle or attached tothe vehicle frame 91: When the latter construction is employed the operating shaft 5may be connected to the axle by an arm 92 and a' link 50. When used in this way the, device willprevent any sudden movement of the spring and will eliminate to a great extent the bouncing movement of an automobile body caused by the rebound of the spring,

It will be obvious that the checking feature of the invention may be used in-variou s other ways than that above described.

'Having described my invention what I claim as new nd desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

lII na dogr check, the combination with an operating shaft and a spring opposing the turning movement thereof, of a cylinder, a piston therein connected to the shaft, and meansto retard the moven nt of the piston in both directions. 1 t j 7 2. In a checkingdevice, the combination with an operating shaft and a spring opposing the turningjnovement of the shaft in one direction, r s liquid-containing cylinder,

a piston therein connected to the shaft, and valve devices to check the movement of the piston in both directions.

3. In a door check, the cdmbination with an operating shait and a spring opposing the turning movement of the shaft in one direction, of a cylinder to contain a liquid, a piston-therein having two rigidly-connected heads, and a valve in each head, one valve acting when the piston moves'in one direction, and the other valve acting when the piston moves in the opposite direction. i

4. In a door chck, the combination with an operating shaft, of a cylinder, a piston therein having two rigidly- 'connec ted heads each provided with a valve, and ports at each end of thecylinder, whereby the piston is checked in its movement in both directions. c

. 5. .In a door-check, anoperatlng shaft, :1 spring which is wound up by the turning movement of the shaft in one direction, a cylindehto contain a liquid, a piston therein connectedto the shaft, said' cylinder having a plurality of forced as the piston moves in'the cylinder, ahd a plurality of valyes controlling said ports whereby the speed of the piston may be regulated throughout the entire extent of its movement.

6. In a door-check, an operating shaft, :1 spring which is wound up by the turning movement of the shaft in one direction, a cylinderg a piston therein, and means to control the speed of the piston throughout the entire extent of its movement during theclosing movement of the door.

7. Ina checking device, in combination, an operaging shaft, aspi-ing opposing the turning movement of the shaft in one direction, a cylinder to contain liquid, a piston therein connected to the operating shaft, said cylinder having a, duct one end of which opens into the cylinder cates with the cylinder through two ports, one of whichis so situatedthatthef-piston head during its movement passes acrdss the same and valves for, separately controlling said duct and one ofsaid ports, f 8; In a checking device, in combination, an operating rshaft, a spring opposing the turning movement of the shaft in one direction, a cylinder to contain liquid, 51 piston therein connected-to the operating shaft, said cylinder near its middle part and the other end of which communi- .cates with-the end of the cylinder through two separated ports,- one 01:" the ports being so situated that the piston head during its movement passes across the same, a valve the duct. 3 I V 9. In a check, an operating shaft, a cylinder to contain liquid, :1 double-headed piston in -the'cylinder, means to move the piston by the turning movement of the shaft, and regulatable means to retard the movement of the piston in' both directions.

10. In a check; a cylinder to contain liquid} a double ended piston therein, said cylinder having at its end ports through which the liquid is forced as the piston moved behind thejpiston andthe other end of which communi-.

having a duct one end-of which opens into the cylinder controlling the other port, and another valve controlling from one and to the other of the cylinder, and an operating shaft connected to the piston.

11. In a check, a cylinder to contain liquid, a piston therein. said cylinder having two ducts each c0mmunicat ing at its inner end with the central portion of the cylinder and having at its outer end two ports, one port of each duct being situated so that the piston hend during its movement passes across the same, and an operating shaft operatively connected to the piston.

12. In a check, a cylinder to contain liquid, :1 piston therein, said cylinder having two ducts each communicating'at its inner end with the central portion of -the cylinits movement passes across the same, valves controlling-15 said ports, and an operating shaft operatively connected I to the piston;

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\ LEWIS C. NORTON.

Witnesses:

Loms C. SMITH, 1 MARGARET AKDUNNL 

